Spinning machine spindle and method of operating same



" Oct. 7, 1941. c. M. NEAL ETAL 2,258,028

SPINNING MACHINE SPINDLE AND METHOD OPERATING SAME Filed Jan. 19, 1938 figs wle wth esp ndl to increase th -hydm tati hee Patented Oct. 7, 1941 senmmr; MACHINE SPINDLEAND M 1 01),

V Kenn dy; "S; J Lowell Sh p pfMaine W in eme eeqeteeuer 19, Q lTF-FWL-H $2 3,95 7%?) int ntiqn reletee to the snin e hi hereqq se u nt y, the problem of lu rieer #9 Asian :is an timp r atntiqne. In the iiSua1-.@.rra,nge :ment the ...oil well is eonstructed ,tophelsi a e 1 plyilofloil cnntaet wi h and su me i mo t o the bearing area. How ver, the e i alway a mrtion .Qf the bearin sur ace near the upper 15 .heleter ,en i of the -;bo1st.er whigh is not so submerged, and 'the sunplyef oil 12 this part of the hea ing is laesnmed e nbe kefieete by icapi i y aided, n esume intan ible and indefinite way, by th me enerd Jea ine 1e 1 the preeaere. a e eatest Shea v malty serv e1 mime. 2%? H9 t inyen ien th m 1 2 3W1??? l -9 .9?? tionebnyelsles ed, Q

neyel eh ik. 312' A e mi: mumm ti h en 951E e ee sie Fi 2 iet ue q r e 313 Fig, 3 1 ga y erticah e e ifen ,7 v eye-es ers .ehqi e in ehatnieel aetien .Q the blade s i vibra es more :E

pr :Less inethe hearing. As the oil level th hase recedes, this upper por ion of th holster dnee not receive an adequate euptzly of lubricant, and it is a common exnerience to .find evidences .Qf this defi iency.

- 7 Elle pr sen invention ,de l teen ielly with 1131115 condition and iteims t evis a bearin @itmetgre'in 1which1thee portions of the bear.- zingsurfaces ahqve the gravity level ef the 11 :afii zb e positive y i pplied with lubricant, .eyen go rein perieds of -.relatively 10.,W level of the .oil s p: "my-tin the spindle base. A further object pf the -,inyention is'to improve thecirculatiqn of oil in bearinestructure of :this ty e with a vie t vprogu mg better ,lnbrigatiqn with t he consequent attainment of higher epeeds, reductign in the rate Q-f wear and in the ptovyler required, and 1m: I2lmlerl'herii",41in the load carrying ability of the repindle, It is also an object of the inventian teieee mpl sh these results without comp qatine ztheibearing ,structure and-without adding m terially to the vexpense of manufacture of it.

il he intention involyes vJmth a .novel methqd and ,aisp' a, .nevel spindle Lstructure.

-- 1,n general, it is proposed ;to .efiect the results A5 4551 AQOMG ecles ribed by utilizing the normal metion w t .e eeremme i 8 .9w Lat e e trefie res ltq; heel & reeeed ier lth 92i e i ti en e e ret a free flow of oil from the oil well into the interior of the bolster so that in this construction, as in those commonly used heretofore, a gravity level is maintained inside the bolster equal to, or slightly higher than, that in the oil well.

As above stated, we have found that when the spindle is in operation in the usual manner relatively'high hydrostatic pressures are created in the oil at some points between the bolster. and the spindle blade, while substantially lower pressures exist at other points separated from This, however, is not the case, the area of maximum pressure being in about the region indicated by the arrow 0. There is, of course, a film of oil constantly present between the blade and the bolster and a region of high pressure is created in such a film in the area'immediately behind said point-of maximum pressure, while another area of very low pressure existsat a diametrically opposite point. These areas of high and low pressure are indicated in a general way at d and e in Fig. 5. It should be observed, also, that these pressure differences exist in spindles and bolsters of the common smooth surfaced types, no special construction being required to create them.

The present invention utilizes these pressure differences to create a circulation of oil over the friction surfaces of the bolster and blade above the gravity level of oil in the bolster. For this purpose an oil outlet port I6, Fig. 1, is provided in the bolster at a high pressure area, such as that indicated at d, Fig. 5, and an inlet port I! is located at a low pressure area, as, for example,

in the neighborhood of the point e, Fig. 5. Thus oil will be drawn in through thelatter port and forced out through the former. These ports l6 and IT opendirectly into the lower ends of verticalgrooves or oil ductsgf and 9 formed in the outer surface of the bolster. Below the ports the oil space is substantially closed by the tapered shouldered portion l3, Fig. 2, "of the bolster. Consequently, the oil forced out through the port it by the pressure'created by-the motion of the spindle fiows upwardly through the groove 1 to the top of the bolster where it overflows, through the notch it, into contact with the surface of the spindle blade. Part of this oil flows downwardly along the surface of the blade thus lubricating the friction surface of the bolster and finds its way back to the level of the ports I6 and H. The surplus flows through the groove g back into the inlet port I! for recirculation.

The location of the ports 16 and I! with reference to the clearances maintained between the blade and the bolster is important. The particular blade shown is like those heretofore used and is provided with an upper tapered portion on which the whirl 15 is forced, this portion terminating between the upper end of the bolster and the lower part of the whirl shank. From this level to a point just above the ports 16 and H the surface of the blade is cylindrical, but from the latter point it tapers uniformly to its lower conical end. We have found that the most satisfactory conditions for creating the circulation of oil above described are maintained when the ports l6 and I! are located in the neighborhood of one-quarter of an inch below the lower end of the cylindrical part of the blade. In this region a clearance of in the neighborhood of three or four-thousandths of an inch is maintained normally between the blade and the bolster, and this produces ample pressure differences to create the circulation of oil necessary 'to lubricate the friction surfaces at the upper end of the bolster. However, it is entirely possible to raise orlower the position of these ports with reference to the taper of the spindle and still produce good results. The most satisfactory conditions, however, are obtained with a clearance of less than fifteen thousandths of an inch.

It should be noted that in addition to the oil which flows into the port H from the groove 9, oil also is fed to the blade in the neighborhood of these ports due to the gravity flow produced through the ports 13 into the interior of the bolster, the entire portion of the bolster and the blade in and below the oil reservoir 5 being constantly maintained submerged in oil.

At the upper end of the bolster there is some tendency for the oil to be thrown off by the high surface speed of the spindle blade in the form of a mist 0r vapor. Consequently, a pressed steel collar 20 is forced into the upper end of the stationary sleeve 1 and is provided with a hole which affords ample clearance for the blade but greatly reduces the escape of an oil mist from this part of the valve. That which does find its way out of the bearing is caught in the upper end of a shield or guard 2| also made of pressed steel and having an enlarged skirt or base portion 22 which fits snugly in that portion of the oil reservoir which immediately surrounds the extension 1. Lugs, such as those shown at 23, pressed inwardly from the body of the sleeve 2|, bear against the outer surface of the extension 7 and hold the shield or guard in a concentric relationship to said extension.

The bolster is provided with the usual key 24 to fit into a slot in the upper end of the extension '1 and prevent rotation of the bolster with the blade. Also, a saw scarf 25 preferably is cut in one sideof the step I0 where it just breaks through the conical bearing surface 26 for the lower end of the blade and affords an increased supply of oil to the bearing surface of the step.

It will be clear from the foregoing that the invention effectually overcomes the difficulty heretofore experienced in properly lubricating the friction surfaces of the spindle blade and the bolster above the gravity level of the oil in the spindle base. In addition, it creates a better circulation of oil over those surfaces which give the blade its lateral stability. Thus in a given spindle structure the superior lubrication can be utilized either to operate the spindle at higher speeds, to make it carry heavier loads, to reduce the power consumption, minimize wear, or to realize some combination of these advantages. While the oil pumping effect of the spindle might be increased by special constructions, these necessarily would involve additional manufacturing expense and we have found them to be unnecessary. Consequently, while a preferred embodiment of the invention has been herein shown and described, it will be evident that the invention may be embodied in other forms without departing from the spirit or scope thereof.

It will also be understood that while the spindle shown has been referred to as a spinning machine spindle, essentially the same construction is used in spindles for twister frames, and the invention is equally applicable to both. Consequently, the reference to spinning machine spindles and to methods of operating such spindles in the claims should be understood to include twister spindles.

Having thus described our invention, what we desire to claim as new is: 1. In a spindle structure for spinning machines, the combination of a spindle base having an oil area of the bolster which is so submerged, and

well therein, an upright spindle blade mounted p in said well, a bolster in said base supporting said blade in its operative position, said bolster having an outlet for the oil at a point between the blade and the bearing surface therefor at which a relatively high pressure is created by the rotation of said blade, and means for conducting oi1 away from said outlet and along a path out of contact with said bearing surface and to a point on said surface considerably above the level of the oil in said well, said bolster also having an inlet for the passage of oil from said well to a point on said bearing surface at which a relatively low pressure is created in the oil by the rotation of said blade.

2. In a spindle structure for spinning machines, the combination of a spindle base having an oil well therein, an upright spindle blade mounted in said well, a bolster in said base supporting said blade in its operative position, said bolster having an outlet for the oil at a point at which a relatively high pressure is created in it by the rotation of said blade, said bolster beingprovided with a channel for conducting the oil from said outlet away from the friction surface of the bolster to a point substantially above the level of the oil in said well and there delivering it to said surface.

3. A spindle structure according to preceding claim 1, in which the lower part of said blade is tapered and said outlet in the bolster opens on to the upper portion of said tapered surface.

the bolster being provided externally with a groove for conducting said oil to a point substantially at the upper end of the bolster.

5. In a spindle structure for spinning machines, the combination of a spindle blade, a bearing structure supporting said blade in an upright position and adapted to hold a supply of oil for lubricating the friction surfaces, said bearing structure having an inlet for conducting oil from said supply to the surface of the blade ata point where a lowpressure is created by the rotation of the blade, and :also having an outlet at a point between said blade and the lateral bearing therefor where a high pressure is created by such rotation, said bearing structure also having a passage for conducting oil out of contact with said blade from said outlet to a point on said blade approximately at the top of the bearing surface therefor.

6. In a spindle structure for spinning machines, the combination of a spindle base having an oil well therein, an upright spindle blade mounted in said well, a bearing supporting saidblade laterally for rotation around its own axis, and means for leading oil away from a point in the bearing structure at said blade surface at which a high pressure is created by the rotation of the blade and conductingsaid oil outside the bearing surface for said blade while under the influence of said pressure to a part of said surface substantially at the top of said bearing and considerably above the gravity level of the oil in said structure.

CHARLES M. NEAL. JOHN A. KENNEDY. 

